"Beating me won't be that easy… BRAVIARY, I'LL BE COUNTING ON YOU!" Skyla shouted loudly as she sent out her final Pokémon.
Braviary -possessing a fearless nature that didn't even fear death- had once been revered as the warrior of the skies.
It held potential no less than Mandibuzz, but it excelled even more in offense and had a wild, aggressive fighting style.
"Braviary, Brave Bird!"
"BRAAAAVIA!"
Without hesitation, it launched a high-power signature move. Braviary's cry echoed with the energy of battle, striking first with overwhelming momentum!
"In that case, let's finish this quickly. Sharpedo…" Sato murmured softly, then looked up and locked eyes with Sharpedo. Their minds were already in sync.
"MEGA EVOLUTION!"
The long-awaited multicolored light finally appeared, enveloping both Sato and Sharpedo.
Amid the gasps of astonished Unova spectators, Sharpedo once again revealed its fully evolved form.
Mega Sharpedo appeared -armed to the teeth- and its strength instantly surged to Mid Pseudo-Elite Four level!
"SHAAAAR!"
Sharpedo howled skyward. A formless pressure spread out from its body, even pushing back the air around it like a gust of wind.
Once again, it could feel the immense power of a Pseudo-Elite Four. This power intoxicated Sharpedo, and gave it a crystal-clear goal to strive toward.
At that same moment, Marshal's Mienshao also broke through to Pseudo-Elite Four level, but compared to Sharpedo's astonishing transformation, it now looked dim and unimpressive.
Since the match had begun, Drake's expression hadn't changed once. But now, he finally broke into a smile, turning his head slightly to look at the Unova League official.
"What do you say? Is this kid good enough for the vice-president's attention?"
"…Wh-what is that?" the "vice" -none other than the Unova League's central figure- no longer had time for polite formalities and asked directly.
"Oh, nothing really. Just a newly discovered evolution method. Just some kids messing around," Drake said with folded arms, "calm and collected". But in truth, the pent-up frustration he'd carried for days had finally been released today.
…And it felt amazing!
"What do you mean 'kids messing around'? That power jumped straight from Peak Elite to Mid Pseudo-Elite Four!" one of the Unova executives blurted out, his gaze toward Sato suddenly full of eagerness.
Drake's lips curled faintly into a smile, but he didn't say more.
After all, he didn't fully understand Mega Evolution himself. Still, he had already added collecting a Salamance Mega Stone to his to-do list.
Seeing Drake remain silent, the Unova officials were like ants on a hot pan. Only after a glare from the vice president did they finally calm down.
Little did they know, someone among them had also failed to suppress their own "cry" of surprise at the beginning.
On the battlefield, the other two matches had coincidentally come to a halt. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the now completely transformed Sharpedo.
Just what kind of power was this?
"Still want to continue?" Sato glanced at the stunned Skyla, giving her a friendly reminder.
Braviary's earlier Brave Bird had already been forced back by the light of Mega Evolution.
"OF COURSE! Braviary, once more, Brave Bird!"
"…Sharpedo, Crunch." Sato's smile faded as he gave the command in a low voice.
The words had barely left his lips when Sharpedo turned into a blue-white streak and zipped to Braviary's side.
Abrupt stop!
Crunch activated!
RIP~
A sharp tearing sound echoed as Braviary was struck.
A moment later, blood sprayed out. A terrifying gash appeared on Braviary's abdomen.
Braviary didn't even have time to cry out. It fell straight to the ground, completely unable to move.
One-hit KO…
Skyla's face turned pale. She forced herself to remain calm and shakily pulled out a Poké Ball, recalling the severely wounded Braviary.
Before the match, Skyla and the others had briefly researched Sato and his companions.
She knew that the boy in front of her -who even looked younger than she did- was also recognized as the youngest Gym Leader.
Sharing that same title made her take this battle very seriously, and the Pokémon she had sent out were her top three.
But she was defeated -easily- by someone using only two Pokémon.
She hadn't even forced out Sato's third.
The youngest Gym Leader? What a joke!
Skyla clutched Braviary's Poké Ball and ran off the field, silently making her way to the medical staff. In the end, she didn't break down in hysteria.
She just wasn't as good.
With that, Sato became the first to secure victory, still holding two battle-ready Pokémon, fully prepared to face the next challenge from the Unova Trainers.
Although no one wanted to admit it, Phoebe had only managed to do moderate damage to Mienshao. In the end, she still failed to defeat a stronger opponent.
And Ryoko, having taken advantage of a brief moment of distraction, had at least forced Jona to reveal his third Pokémon: a Peak Elite -near Pseudo- Darmanitan!
Ryoko's final ace, Flygon, was then easily finished off by the newly sent-out Darmanitan, who cleaned up the last of its stamina.
Now, Sato would have to face both Marshal and Jona by himself.
Without saying a word, the two finished opponents walked to stand across from Sato. Mienshao and Darmanitan entered the field side by side.
"Gengar, I'll leave this one to you." Before the battle, Sato had already returned Gengar to its Poké Ball to avoid others realizing it was hiding in his shadow.
The golden-eyed Gengar's appearance once again caused a stir.
Who had ever seen a Gengar that didn't laugh mischievously on entry… but instead made a solemn gesture, calm as a sage?
Not normal = unusual = not weak = possibly strong.
Seeing Sato send out his final Pokémon, Marshal and Jona exchanged glances, then gave their commands simultaneously without hesitation.
"Mienshao, use Aura Sphere on Gengar!"
"Darmanitan, follow up the Aura Sphere with Flare Blitz!"
Aura Sphere for targeting, meant to knock out Gengar while it was still only at initial Peak-level? No way they'd get what they wanted!
"Gengar, use Psychic. Sharpedo, Hydro Pump on Darmanitan!"
Buzz~
A wave of purplish psychic energy instantly swept across the field. Aura Sphere, being a Fighting-type move, was weak to Psychic. It froze mid-air, held in place by sheer force.
'But… this was a Pseudo-Elite Four-level Mienshao's Aura Sphere! How could a Ghost-type Pokémon's psychic power be this strong?'
On the other side, Sharpedo -already prepared- zigzagged to Darmanitan's side. Hydro Pump exploded at point-blank range.
…A Special Attack used with the force of a Physical move.
Blasted back!
Darmanitan was directly blown away. That Hydro Pump nearly took its whole life.
But as it hit the ground, Darmanitan's body suddenly lit up with bright blue light. Its strong limbs contracted, and its body floated in midair, transforming into a cyan statue.
"Darmanitan… Zen Mode," Sato said in a low voice, gripping his Key Stone once again.
Having transformed into Zen Mode, Darmanitan's power had clearly risen…
To Low Pseudo-Elite Four level!
.
.
.
250 Powa Stones = Extra chap.